The Mill & Grounds

Located in a tranquil dell, adjacent to meadows and wooded walks with picnic facilities and a safe garden area.

The Mill & Grounds

Explore the beautiful Water Mill & Grounds.

The Mill

The mill has a working water-wheel which was salvaged along with gears and cogs from Guyzance Mill on the River Coquet. The workings, which are now configured to drive woodworking machinery, can be viewed from the gallery on the mezzanine.

The Grounds

The site is a haven of peace for you to absorb and explore. You can see some of the features below, and if you want to know more, just click on the link, or better still come along and see for yourself!

Nature

The Acomb Wheel

The Willow House

The Forge

The Stone Seat

The Map

The Sawmill

The Islands

The Mill Race

History

A look back in time.

Local coal and lead from as far away as Alston was transported through Path Head village on its way to the staithes on the Tyne.  The mill produced animal feed for the hundreds of horses and ponies that passed every day.

History

Coal

Coal was transported by horse-drawn chauldrons running on wooden wagonways which were later replaced by iron.  Towneley Main wagonway ran from Barmoor in Ryton, past the mill and down through Stella woods.

History

Staithes

The Stella Staithes.  On the hill in the distance, you can see the summerhouse which still stands at the top of Summerhill. If you leave the mill on foot, turn left into the next field just before you reach the road.  That is Image Hill. Walk straight on and you will come to the Summerhouse. It no longer has its domed roof, but the views are tremendous.

History

Pigs and Poultry

By 1830, the lead-mines were exhausted, corn prices were too high for a small mill to make a profit, and the railway had arrived at Blaydon, which transformed the way industrial products were transported.  The mill ceased production and the farm started to depend on poultry and pigs.

History

Rural Idyll

When the original farmhouse was knocked down in 1903, the mill building was converted into a weathertight barn for the storage of crops. The wheel and all the mill machinery were lost.

History

Derelict Ruin

By the 1970s, the building was derelict and the village stood on the edge of a huge area of gravel extraction.  All seemed lost, but in 1994, Gateshead Council charged the Vale Mill Trust a nominal fee to buy the building and its surrounding land and restore it to its former glory.

Visit Us

Where to find us.

Path Head Water Mill
Summerhill,
Blaydon on Tyne
NE21 4SP

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